In Google’s Zeitgeist listing of the most trending search terms it turns out most Irish people were balancing a curiosity about ‘twerking’ with how to be compliant citizens and pay the dreaded property tax.

The results show that the recent death of Fast and Furious star Paul Walker unleashed a torrent of search activity, and the death of South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela dominated top trending searches.

The theme of death was also made popular in terms of searches for former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, as well as Sopranos star James Gandolfini.

Kerry teenager Donal Walsh also topped searches after he came to national prominence pleading for the end of the suicide epidemic among young people, before losing his own battle with cancer in April.

But there was also the theme of birth, too, with the birth of “Royal Baby” Prince George in July of this year.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan dominated the search trends this year for his role in spearheading property tax and the installation of water meters.

Another politician topped the searches for his actions during the year. Independent TD Mick Wallace’s meeting with WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange, his construction company went into receivership, and he made headlines for admitting he was caught by gardaí while driving and using his mobile phone.

“Twerking” as made famous by pop stars Miley Cyrus with Robin Thicke at the VMA Awards topped the “what is” list, displacing “love” for the first time.

New words that have entered the lexicon of search for the Irish include “catfish” – a being who pretends to be someone they are not to pursue deceptive online romances and “Grumpy Cat” also topped the search list.

Not surprisingly, Breaking Bad was the top searched TV show on Google while Love/Hate and the Rose of Tralee also proved very popular search terms.